Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Author
Topic: heeelllpppppp! (Read 2306 times)

first off hi 2 u all hope u are all ok, secondly heeelllppppp!!!!!!!!! god i have been really sttruggling with my weight the last few months & 2 top it all off i went 2 the hairdressers today & i havent been to this particualr one for about 8 months & when i walked in she said on have u lost loads of weight? so that just confimred everything i had been thinking & feeling(great!) i have recently switched meds from sustiva to kaletra & im also on truvada. switched about 5 months ago now. im sure since the kaletra my weight loss has gotton worse, i have quite a bit in my bum, legs, arms but a bit all over & def my face. im just wondering if it is the kaletra causing this? i did have a bit before switching tho which makes me confused as to wether it is kaletra making it worse or not. im trying not 2 get myself down but i just cant help feeling like im back to square one again as before meds 3 yrs ago i had lost so much weight & became so depressed im so scared of goin back there again:( im literally thinking about it 24/7 & i keep looking in the mirror & feeling my bum & really being over the top about it, just cant stop thinking about it which i know is probably not helping! anyone have any ideas at all or anyone been on the same meds & had this prob? thanks guys:)

I am also not sure what your weight problem is? Have you put on too much or lost too much.

I am taking Kaletra and Truvada (since Feb) and I am 62 kg. Been 62 Kg for months.

Logged

Cruise on down the High Way

"When people who are not ready jump in, things can go horribly wrong. For most of us, there is always time to take a deep breath, consider one's options and make a careful, sound decision based on clinical fact, not emotion."MtD

What you are describing could be lipoatrophy, wasting, or some combination of the two. Without more details, it is diffcult to say. Neither Sustiva or Kaletra are are really bad drugs as far as lipoatrophy is concerned, ( lipid problems are another matter) and Viread (in Truvada) is actually the most fat "friendly" of the nukes. This is not to say that they cannot cause the problems you are seeing, only that it is not common.

Hi Uk LadyJust want to say I have been where you have been. Losing weight despite eating. I ddn't overeat though becuase I didn't want to put too much weight on because it goes to all the wrong places eg tummy. I was very frustrated by it. I am not worried about weight loss at the moment as I'm pregnant and I have gained the weight (in my bum lol) back. I'm eating loads. Hard to tell with my face.

During the time I was losing weight I spoke to the Dr and changed meds but still continued to lose weight. I wasn't sure whether it was due to stress or meds or both. There is no easy solution but as has been previously discussed, talk to your Dr. I guess I will start worrying about weight loss after baby is born.

hi all thanks for all your responses, yes as i said i have been losing weight. i think its more wasting as its in my arms legs face & bum mostly. so i guess not much can be done about this but i def think its worsened since chnaging to kaletra. but everybody has been saying that kaletra & truvada prob wouldnt do this, so im stuck i dont know what to do. im just worried i am going to lose even more in my face as id probably not even want to go out as i suffer from anxiety as it is. i eat 3 times a day maybe eating more would help i dont know. any suggestions? i will bring this up with my doc again but i did last time & he seemed to shrug it off & i had had great response to changing meds & think thats all he was concerned about! thanks again

Everyone reacts to meds differently, so don't discount that the combination you're on could be causing the wasting. See your doctor and insist he listen to you and try to help you sort this out. Good luck.

Logged

I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

if the weight loss appears to be worse since starting Kaletra then it's probably the Kaletra....

The research into this is not clear. Some studies suggest women eliminate Kaletra faster, but some suggest that the drug may be present at up to 20% more than expected.

Also, women may get fat loss more frequently, and experience worse GI effects. But this is not clear cut either.

If the weight loss is related to not absorbing food properly then switching Kaletra may resolve this. There are be other management strategies, but none so robust.

If the weight loss is a side effect of the drug, then testing the drug level to see if there is too much is possible. However, Kaletra dose is hard to adjust, and therefore this may lead to a switch. Also, if the drug levels are normal, this points to a switch perhaps

If the weight loss is a class effect - either of PIs or the nukes (Truvada in your case), the using a combo without the offending class is possible.

The simplest alternative to Kaletra is boosted atazanavir, which in NHS should be a cost neutral switch. If you have NNRTI resistance then other newer drugs are justified and in line with UK guidelines

Viral load <50 is not enough long term, you have to live with the damn drugs every day, and the bad effects as well as the good. solving this problem will improve you adherence long-term and your health outcomes (tell your doc this)

If your doc isn't taking this seriously, insist - enlist an advocate if necessary (try i-Base - i-base - www.i-base.info) or get a second opinion

Matt was providing a number of avenues for someone dealing with drug induced fat loss to pursue with their doc. A lot of dealing with the weight loss (or gain) caused by ARV's has to be done by actually switching out offending drugs (or drug classes) and observing the results. Unfortunately, there is no blood test which identifies a "cause and effect" between particular drug and lipo.

For example, we now know that d4t and AZT are culprits in this type of fat loss. How? It was observed in larger numbers of people on these drugs than on others. Trials were set up, comparing people on these drugs to people on other drugs, and it confirmed the initial observations. There are now several theories as to how these drugs cause fat loss (destruction of mitochondria being the most accepted theory).

Basic metabolic tests (blood glucose levels, etc) and Lipid panels (LDL and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) can show how a particular drug effects blood sugar and fat levels, but whether this translates directly into fat loss (or gain) is not yet known....

I deal with this issue myself, so I now how frustrating it can be to not have concrete answers.....

Logged

“Keep up the good work.... And God bless you.” -- Sarah Palin, to members of the Alaskan Independence Party, 2008

Thanks guys its really nice to know other people see it how i do, i think when i brought this up to my doc he was so into making sure my numbers were good as it was my first appointment since being on new combo but they are & thye havnt even changed they remained the same which were very good. Also a really big thanks to Matt, the info you have given me is great i feel like i have some info on my side now as i dont know much about the meds at all they are still fairly new to me, so thanks so much. well i am due to see my doc again in september so i will keep you all updated, but things have def gotten worse since being on kaletra. also has anyone ever used a mini stepper with the resistance bands? i thought that maybe a good idea for me to get in some exercise without losing weight & build up some muscle in my legs & arms? thanks again guys i feel much better now that maybe i could get this sorted (i hope)